Hello
by AeroQC
Summary: A decision made results in anger and rejection, but they say that time is supposed to heal all wounds. Oneshot inspired by the song 'Hello' by Adele.


**Hello**

Nick was standing before the chief's office for a good ten minutes before he brought up the courage to knock.  
"Come in," a gruff voice called.  
As the fox stepped in, the mammal at the desk freely expressed his surprise.  
"Officer Wilde? What can I help you with?"  
"Sir, we need to talk," he sternly responded.  
"About what?"  
Nick gave out a quiet sigh before answering.  
"My resignation."

…

"You know Nick, I'm glad that you decided to be my partner," Judy said as she snuggled against the fox.  
"And why's that?" He asked.  
The bunny smiled.  
"Because it takes a lot of commitment to be a police officer," she said. "And I like your company."  
"Well I'll have you know that I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," Nick smiled back before giving her a kiss.

…

Nick woke up from his nap at the train station, hearing that his train was pulling in. After a slight stretch, he picked up his bags and headed for the platform.  
As the fox took an empty seat by the window, he couldn't help but spot a raccoon couple saying goodbye to each other just outside. Nick felt his heart sink as the two kissed before leaving, the male boarding onto the train. Almost automatically he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.  
The tone rang once…  
Twice…  
Three times…

…

Nick came home in lower spirits than usual. Bogo had called him in after his shift, leaving Judy to arrive before him, but now he had to share the news with her.  
"Carrots! I'm home!" He called out.  
"Finally!" The bunny replied from the kitchen. "So what is it that the chief only wanted you for? Was it about your reports again?"  
Nick walked into the kitchen to find his girlfriend elbows deep in a mixing bowl.  
"What're you doing?"  
"Baking a cake," she replied matter-of-factly. "Don't worry, I ordered a pizza for supper."  
"Why are you baking a cake?"  
Judy groaned at the question.  
"I knew you'd forget," she sighed. "We've been dating for a year now, so…"  
Nick facepawed at the revelation; this was only going to make the news harder to tell. He suddenly felt her hug around his waist, twisting his unease even more.  
"Don't worry, I forgive you," she smiled. "So what did Bogo want?"  
"I- Uh… He said that I'm getting a promotion…" He muttered.  
"What?"  
Nick pulled out of her hug.  
"I'm getting promoted…" He repeated.  
"That's great!" Judy exclaimed.  
"That's not all," the fox continued, cutting her celebration short. "I'm also being transferred to another precinct…"  
The bunny's ears fell at this new information.  
"Oh… But at least you'll still be working in Zootopia so-"  
"I'm not being transferred within Zootopia."  
"To Bunnyburrow?" Judy hopefully asked.  
Nick simply looked away.  
"Can't you refuse the offer?"  
"No," He simply answered. "Bogo said that the board wants me to transfer to show how well prey/predator relations can be in other cities. That and if I don't follow through, then I'm fired."  
"WHAT?!"  
"I don't know why, but my best guess is that someone on the board doesn't like me…" Nick evasively added.  
"Then quit."  
Nick was surprised to hear those words come out of Judy's mouth.  
"If you can't stay here AND be a cop, then I'd rather you not be one," she firmly stated. "You promised me that you wouldn't leave me."  
He looked at her to find anger in the bunny's eyes, balled fists shaking as they clenched. It hurt him just to look at her.  
"I can't…"  
Judy was off-put by his words.  
"Huh?"  
"I can't quit Judy," he said. "Besides, I already agreed to the transfer."  
Tears started to well in her eyes as she realized what he was saying.  
"No… No! NO! You can't leave! You can't!" She yelled as the tears ran down her cheeks. "You became an officer to be with me! Didn't you?"  
"Judy… I'm sorry, but I didn't do it for you…" Nick painfully admitted.  
"But… But what about us?"  
"I'm sorry, but I need to do this."  
The fox tried to console her with a hug, but she pushed him away, anger flaring again.  
"If you want to leave, then that's fine," she stated as she grabbed the mixing bowl. "LEAVE!"  
Nick narrowly dodged the bowl as he fled the kitchen and the apartment, leaving a sobbing bunny on the floor.

…

Nick woke up as the train pulled into Savannah Central Station, grabbing his things as he got off. For a few minutes he stood there on the platform, looking left and right for anyone he might recognize, before heading out and hailing a taxi.  
As the car slipped into traffic, the fox dialed on his phone again. After a minute of ringing it went to voicemail.  
"Hey Carrots! It's me again," Nick sighed. "I'm back in Zootopia, in case you were wondering. I was waiting for you at the station, but I guess you decided to not come meet me. Can we have coffee together? Maybe talk? I'd like to hear your voice again, Carrots. It seems like I'm the only one trying to make this work. Bye."  
He let out a sigh as he put the phone back in his pocket.  
"Lady troubles?" The driver asked.  
Nick chuckled slightly.  
"You could say that."  
"You shouldn't worry too much," He assured the fox. "Give her a bit of time and she'll come 'round."  
Nick looked out the window at the changing landscape of the city.  
"I've given her five years…" He muttered to himself.

…

"Have you at least called her to say you're sorry?"  
"Mom, every time I try, she immediately rejects the call; I can't even leave her a message," Nick explained.  
His mother sighed at this.  
"I just wish she could've seen you off. Who knows when you'll be coming back?"  
She hugged him before letting him step on the train.  
"You keep trying to make up with her, okay?"  
He waved back as the doors closed.  
"I'll try, mom," he muttered as he went to grab a seat.

…

Nick walked into the lobby of precinct one and felt a warmth that he had almost forgotten. Casually walking up to the desk, he called out to the familiar cheetah.  
"Hey Ben! Still working on that diet?"  
Clawhauser paused for a moment as he looked down at the fox that came in.  
"Oh. Em. Goodness. Is that you, Nick?" He asked in surprise.  
"Do you know any other fox as good-looking as me?" Nick smirked.  
"It's so good to see you!" The cheetah exclaimed. "What're you doing here? I thought you transferred?"  
"I'm on vacation," the fox shrugged. "Say, have you seen Carrots? She's not returning my calls."  
Clawhauser shrunk at the mention of Judy.  
"Uh… She probably doesn't want to see you…" He meekly responded.  
"Well I want to see her," the fox pushed. "I tried our old apartment, but she seems to have moved. So can you help me find her?"  
"Uh… Okay… One sec…" Clawhauser said.  
He swallowed before turning on the intercom.  
"Chief. There's a fox that would like to see you."  
"Ben, I'm looking for Judy, not Bogo," Nick annoyingly expressed.  
Before the cheetah could respond, a soft voice came from the intercom:  
"Send him up."

…

The hare looked at Nick with utter surprise.  
"I'm sorry, can you say that again? It sounded like you were asking about resigning."  
"Yes. Exactly," the fox confirmed.  
"Okay… May I ask why?"  
"Chief, I've been working here for five years now and I won't deny that everyone here is doing a remarkable job," Nick commented. "But it's lacking something for me."  
"Is there anything I could do to help with your trouble?" the hare asked.  
Nick shook his head.  
"I came here to prove that I was doing this job for me and no one else," he explained. "But I've finally realized that that wasn't the case. She was right."  
"She?"  
"My old partner in Zootopia, Judy Hopps. She was right."  
"I'm not following."  
"What I'm saying, sir, is that if I can't be a cop and be with her, then I'd rather not be one at all."  
Nick unpinned his badge and placed it on the chief's desk.  
"It took me five years to finally realize it. I quit."

…

Nick stood in front of the door, surprised to find Bogo's name was not on it, and even more surprised to find her name instead.  
"Either come in or go away, you're blocking the door," a grumpy voice called from inside.  
Nick pushed open the door to find a sour looking bunny sitting at a slightly oversized desk.  
"Hey Carrots," he nervously greeted. "I see you got promoted. Good job."  
"Uh-huh, no thanks to you," Judy replied condescendingly.  
The fox sat down in own of the chairs available, having not felt this uneasy since the time he left.  
"So did you get any of my calls?" He hazarded.  
"Yep."  
"Have you ever considered giving me a call?"  
"Nope."  
"Okay…"  
Nick drummed his fingers on his knees as he tried to figure something else to talk about, Judy's eyes drilling into him the entire time.  
"How've you been?" He tried smiling.  
"As good as I can be," Judy replied.  
"That's not exactly an answer, Carrots."  
"WELL WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!?" The bunny flared. "Do you really expect me to forget what you did? To just take you back like nothing happened? YOU did this to me, Nick."  
The fox hung his head at those words.  
"I'm sorry Judy."

"What?"  
"I said I'm sorry!" He repeated as he lifted his gaze to meet hers, tears running down his face. "I thought I took the job to prove to myself that I could be more than just a fox. But you were right, Judy. I didn't take the job for me, I took it for you. I became a cop to be with you and I threw that away when I left. And now I've thrown it all away to be with you again."  
Judy's ears dropped as he said this, her features softening to the same face that he remembered all those years ago.  
"You did what?" She asked.  
"I quit," Nick smirked. "I didn't say in any of my messages because I wanted to tell you in person. Judy, if I can't be a cop AND be with you, then I'd rather not be a cop."  
There was a slight pause in the air as Judy let the words sink in. After a moment she took in a breath and clenched her paws as she glared at the fox.  
"Get out."  
Nick subtly nodded as he got up and made to leave, relieved that he finally got an answer after all these years.  
"We can do coffee on Saturday," Judy said just loud enough as he opened the door.


End file.
